The far southern end of Fort Valley also contains a small highland sub-valley called Crisman Hollow, between Catback and Kerns mountains.

Fort Valley is entirely rural, consisting mostly of private farmland, surrounded by the George Washington National Forest (GWNF), which covers the slopes and ridges on both the east and west mountains, offering many outdoor recreation opportunities.

[2] The Elizabeth Furnace and Camp Roosevelt Recreation Area of the GWNF are located within Fort Valley.

[4] Thus, the geologic floor of Fort Valley is primarily limestone, with flysch shale, siltstone and some bentonite.

The Tuscarora trail, a 252-mile long distance hiking trail that passes through Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, proceeds along the northeast ridgeline of Fort Valley, entering from just above Shenandoah State Park on the eastern ridgeline of Massanutten Mountain.

Forest Road 274, Crisman's Hollow Road in the Page County southern end of Fort Valley, is a popular but not crowded spot for primitive roadside camping in the George Washington National Forest, with access to several trails leading to Kerns, Catback and Middle mountains and the Massanutten Trail.

The ridges of Fort Valley administered by the U.S. Forest Service contain several Special Biological Areas (SBA).

Waterfall Mountain Cliffs, in the southern extremity of the Fort Valley's Masanutten Mountain ridgeline just south of Scothorn Gap, has been recommended by Virginia Division of Natural Heritage to be designated as a Special Biological Area as it contains significant amounts of semi-primitive acreage.

[9] Prior to Washington's survey, a first settler named Powell, reputed to be a fugitive from the law, took refuge in the valley in the northwestern mountain.

About this time Morgan reportedly began building a road into the valley, but when the Continental armies had success work stopped.

Portions of the road are still visible and accessible by a hiking trail near Sherman's Gap, but in lower elevations the route is lost and unknown.

Why Morgan would have built a military road over a nearly 2,000 foot minor gap as opposed an easier route along the water line of Passage Creek is unclear, leading some to believe the story is apocryphal.

[10] Daniel Munch was a successful farmer and distiller, the son of early German settlers who moved to Fort Valley in 1779.

[12] With abundant deposits of limonite iron ore, called Oriskany ore (considered premium grade at the time),[13] along with limestone for the iron-making process and timber for fuel, Fort Valley supported an active iron industry early in its settled history.

Blast furnaces fueled by charcoal processed purified molten iron into forms or "pigs" which were hammered into bars and sent to foundries.

[17] Signal Knob, a 2,111-foot barren promontory at the extreme northern ridgeline of Fort Valley offering panoramic views of the Shenandoah Valley northeast and west, was utilized during the Civil War as an important Confederate military observation and signal post.

"[9] From Signal Knob the areas around Shenandoah Valley battlefields of Cedar Creek, Fisher's Hill and Tom's Brook can be observed.

Otherwise, during the Civil War no battle was fought in the isolated and contained Fort Valley, but General John Imboden's Confederate cavalry camped there at times.